Buzz Williams vs. Tony Bennett

If you were an elite basketball player, which coach would you rather play for?

1) Alumni in the NBA: Buzz Williams boast a current olympian (Jimmy Butler) and a smorgasbord of of other NBA players (Wes Matthews & Jae Crowder amongst others). Tony Bennett can claim Klay Thompson during Bennett's final year at Washington State (Thompson's freshman season) and a couple of bit players from his tenure from UVA, most notably Mike Scott. Edge: Williams

2) Winning: In terms of regular seasons, both coaches have two regular seasons conference titles (with Bennett getting the edge with one conference tournament championship). Buzz Williams has five NCAA tournament appearances with two sweet sixteen appearance and one elite eight appearance. Tony Bennett has six NCAA tournament appearances with two sweet sixteen appearances and one elite eight appearance. Bennett's elite eight appearance was more recent (2016 vs. Buzz's 2013), however Buzz never had a team epically collapse like UVa did againist Syracuse last year:

Edge: Williams (in the tournament), Bennett (in the regular season)

3) Pop Culture: Tony Bennett clearly has the edge on this one. Bennett has sold over 50 million records worldwide and his brand of adult contemporary music is unsurpassed...oh wait wrong Tony Bennett. Buzz most seminal moment from the lens of pop culture:

And Tony Bennett's:

Edge: Williams

4) Twitter Game: Easy win for Williams because Bennett doesn't have twitter. Edge: Williams

5) Impact on fan base: Buzz has brought excitement and attention to a non-football VT sport, a notoriously difficulty feat that only few coaches in American can pull off . On the other hand, Tony Bennett has inspired UVa alumns to say things like this about UVA:

"Mediocrity" is a viable term to describe Virginia's athletic program, though. It's the kind of mediocrity that can be tolerated, through the specific blend of elitism and inferiority complex at the school. If you don't think that's a real thing, perhaps you've never heard the proudly wielded phrase "Public Ivy." You'll hear people tout the breadth of UVa sports — yeah, they're a perennial contender in men's soccer, baseball, and lacrosse. But those are three sports that are tremendously difficult to support because they're the most likely to be played by the people you hated in high school.

Edge: Williams

I think I've made my point.

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